Sinai. There you may see your sin, but no sinatoning sacrifice. There you may hear your doom, but no cheering voice of mercy. The law terrifies and distracts, but the law-fulfilling Surety melts and renews the soul. It is the influence of the Holy Spirit, that produces that penitence which is the beginning of a holy life. Now this is done, by turning the eye of the mind to fix on the dying Redeemer. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one that mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born. Zech. xii. 10. If you look to Jesus, and he look on you, the stone within your breast will be dissolved. The cock's shrill crowing stirred up Peter's memory, but so deeply was he stupified, that a clap of thunder would not have alarmed his conscience. Yet when Jesus looked upon him, he was penetrated to the heart, and went out and wept bitterly. CHAP. V. On the Evidences of Repentance. WHILE Some persons sink under groundless fears, others are buoyed up with false and flattering hopes. The sincere but weak believer is apt to think the work of conversion is yet to begin, while the self-righteous conclude it is already done. Both are deceived, but the deception is far from being in both cases equally dangerous. Ungrounded fear may rob you of present comfort, but blind presumption will ruin you forever. It is possible, by carefully applying the scriptures to ourselves, to know whether we have been brought to repentance or not. And if this be possible, it is certainly desirable. I shall first shew what are no evidences of true repentance, and next what are. I. I shall shew what are no evidences or proofs of true repentance. 1. To turn from one party to another is no proof of repentance. There has always been an endless variety of religious opinions and ceremonies in the world. Christians themselves are split into a great many parties and denominations. A man may often change his opinions, and never be himself changed by the gospel. He may be converted from one party to another, and never be converted to God. There are numbers who seem to be deceived by such changes. "He is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men but of God." Rom. ii. 28, 29. With equal truth we may say, he is not a Christian who is so in name, in form, and in profession only. If baptism made true Christians, you would, as Alleine says, have only to search the parish register to know whether your names are written in heaven. 2. A great deal of labour to keep up fair appearances is no proof of true repentance. You may have a tree in your garden tall and stately, full of leaves, and beautiful to the eye, but destitute of fruit, like the barren fig-tree which our Lord cursed. Counterfeits may have the same stamp as sterling coin, and surpass its brightness, but when brought to the touchstone and the balance, they want purity and weight. Where there is no vital godliness, we often see a studious attempt to imitate it. When the gospel was first preached, many of the converts gave the most satisfactory proofs of their sincerity and zeal. They generously gave up their property to relieve the poor, and assist in spreading the truth. Ananias and Sapphira, that they might not seem behind the rest, sold a possession, and by an agreement between themselves, kept back part of the price, and took the other part and laid it at the apostles' feet. Acts v. 1. 2. Though at bottom they were covetous, yet they wished to be thought liberal, and therefore contrived a low trick to gain their end. How awfully were they struck dead by the just vengeance of God for their hypocrisy, No persons were more exact than the pharisees, in paying tythe of mint, annise, and cummin; but it was done to conceal the neglect of the weightier matters of judgment, mercy, and faith. How often do we find people who too nearly resemble them, and take great pains merely to keep up a fair appearance. They would not for the world neglect going their round of duties, but are total strangers to the religion of the heart. It is a much easier thing to whitewash a house on the outside, than to take away the rotten beams and mouldered bricks, and rebuild it with solid materials. A man may have the garb of a penitent, and the speech of a believer, and not have one drop of sincere sorrow, or one grain of precious faith in his heart. If Noah, instead of pitching the ark to keep out the water, had only painted it to make a fair shew, he would have perished like others by the flood. Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall. 3. Sudden terrors, or melancholy thoughts are no proofs of true repentance. On the near approach of danger, or under affliction, the most presumptuous wretches have cried out for fear, as if they had been seized by ghastly fiends. It is said Caligula, the Roman emperor, who was one of the bloodiest tyrants, though in general he impiously defied both earth and heaven, yet always began to tremble and pray when it thundered and lightened. While terrible plagues were upon Pharaoh, when the magicians, with all their enchantments, could not quiet his fears, he often sent for Moses and Aaron in haste, entreated their prayers, and promised to let them go, but no sooner had he obtained deliverance than he became harder than before. How often, when wicked men are laid on a bed of sickness, and think death very near, do they send for ministers to pray with them, and seem |